A 19-year-old Israeli Jewish man has been arrested in Israel on suspicion of making multiple bomb threats to Jewish organisations and an airline in the US and elsewhere.

The unnamed individual – who lives in Israel, reportedly in the southern city of Ashkelon, but has joint US-Israeli citizenship – was arrested at the request of the FBI, which has been examining a wave of threats against Jewish centres.

The arrest took place after a months-long undercover investigation by an Israeli police unit specialising in cybercrime.

Rosenfeld described the suspect as “the guy who was behind the JCC threats” – referring to Jewish community centres – and said he had used advanced technologies to mask the origin of his calls and communications to synagogues, community buildings and public venues.

The suspect also made threats in New Zealand and Australia, Rosenfeld added.

According to a recording acquired by the Jewish Telegraphic Agency, in one call to Delta airlines the suspect is heard threatening to kill Jews onboard a flight.

“It’s a C-4 bomb with a lot of shrapnel surrounded by a bag,” the voice on the recording warns. “In a short time, a large number of Jews are going to be slaughtered. Their heads are going to [sic] blown off from the shrapnel. There’s a lot of shrapnel. There’s going to be a bloodbath that’s going to take place in a short time. I think I told you enough. I must go.”

The US Anti-Defamation League has tallied 166 hoax bomb threats to Jewish schools, synagogues and cultural centres since 9 January. There has also been a spate of vandalism in Jewish cemeteries, leading to fears of rising antisemitism in the US.
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The Trump administration was accused of not speaking out quickly enough on the threats, though last month the White House denounced them and rejected “antisemitic and hateful threats in the strongest terms”.

According to reports in the Israeli media, the suspect is not serving in the Israeli military as might be expected at his age.
Despite efforts to mask the source of the calls, police investigators in New Zealand and Australia were able to identify the IP address of the computer used as being inside Israel. According to some reports, the equipment used included a large antenna and unusually sophisticated computer hardware. The suspect also used technology to alter the sound of his voice.

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Rosenfeld said the investigation was carried out with the help of the FBI and police from other countries.

The suspect is the second person to be arrested in connection with hoax bomb threats in the US.

Earlier this month, Juan Thompson, a former journalist, was arrested in relation to eight of the bomb threats. Federal officials said some of the calls were made in the name of Thompson’s ex-partner as part of a campaign to harass and intimidate her.
Commenting on Thursday’s arrest, Israel’s public security minister, Gilad Erdan, said: “We hope that this investigation will help shed light on some of the recent threats against Jewish institutions, which have caused great concern both among Jewish communities and the Israeli government.”